STUDENT’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS DICTIONARY AND ITS USAGE : A Case of Study for English Department Students Diponegoro University

Abstract

In learning a foreign language, dictionary is one of learning aids to assist students in making decision about making sense of words in usage –in the target language. This research is conducted to discover how English Department students in Universitas Diponegoro perceive dictionary and use it to assist meaning discovery. The data in this paper is obtained from returned questionnaires previously distributed across four academic years in. The results show that dictionary is not the primary source of English vocabulary intake. Most dictionaries are bilingual (English-Indonesian or Indonesian-English), and may take the form of printed or electronic dictionary. We also discovered that the respondents tend to choose a dictionary based on the number of words listed. Further clarifications of the respondents’ answers indicate the preference of vocabulary intake, where dictionary is not a priority. Bilingual dictionaries are preferred as compared to monolingual ones with the assumption that they are easier to understand. Although the definition of word is still very loose, students seem to be more attracted to dictionaries, which claim to have vast number of entries. For practical purposes, portable dictionary or application dictionary is more preferred as they support mobility. From the results, we may conclude that dictionaries are used by the respondents with restriction in meaning discovery. We suggest that they take it to the next level, where existing linguistic features from dictionaries might also be used to assist writing.